Sign up to receive free email alerts when patent applications with chosen keywords are publishedSIGN UP

Abstract:

An image forming apparatus includes a light source including a plurality
of light emitting elements for emitting a light beam for exposing the
photosensitive member, the light emitting elements being arranged
respectively corresponding to one pixel of the image in a direction of a
rotational axis of the photosensitive member, an output unit for
outputting pixel data for driving each of the light emitting elements, a
drive unit for driving the light emitting elements based on the output
pixel data, a storage unit for storing a cumulative number of times of
light emission of a target light emitting element included in the light
emitting elements, and a light amount control unit for controlling a
light amount of a light beam emitted by the target light emitting element
and the other light emitting elements based on the stored cumulative
number of times of light emission of the target light emitting element.

Claims:

1. An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording
medium by forming an electrostatic latent image on a rotating
photosensitive member, developing the electrostatic latent image with
toner, and transferring a toner image developed with toner from the
photosensitive member onto the recording medium, the image forming
apparatus comprising: a light source that includes a plurality of light
emitting elements configured to emit a light beam for exposing the
photosensitive member, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements
are arranged so as to respectively correspond to one pixel of the image
in a direction of a rotational axis of the photosensitive member; an
output unit configured to output pixel data for driving each of the
plurality of light emitting elements; a drive unit configured to drive
the plurality of light emitting elements based on the pixel data output
from the output unit; a storage unit configured to store a cumulative
number of times of light emission of a target light emitting element
included in the plurality of light emitting elements; and a light amount
control unit configured to control a light amount of a light beam emitted
by the target light emitting element and the light emitting elements
other than the target light emitting element based on the stored
cumulative number of times of light emission of the target light emitting
element.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:
an output control unit configured to control output of the pixel data to
the drive unit from the output unit so that a position of image formation
of the electrostatic latent image is shifted in units of a predetermined
number of pixels in the direction of the rotational axis of the
photosensitive member each time an electrostatic latent image
corresponding to a predetermined number of sheets of recording paper is
formed.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the
plurality of light emitting elements are divided into a plurality of
groups in the direction of the rotational axis of the photosensitive
member, and an arbitrary one of the plurality of light emitting elements
included in each group is the target light emitting element, wherein the
storage unit is configured to store the cumulative number of times of
light emission of each target light emitting element included in each
group, and wherein the light amount control unit is configured to control
a light amount of a light beam emitted by the plurality of light emitting
elements included in each group based on the cumulative number of times
of light emission of the target light emitting element included in each
group.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:
an update unit configured to, when the target light emitting element
emits light based on pixel data that causes the target light emitting
element to emit light, update the cumulative number of times of light
emission by adding the number of times of light emission by the target
light emitting element based on the pixel data to the cumulative number
of times of light emission stored in the storage unit.

5. An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording
medium by forming an electrostatic latent image on a rotating
photosensitive member, developing the electrostatic latent image with
toner, and transferring a toner image developed with toner from the
photosensitive member onto the recording medium, the image forming
apparatus comprising: a light source that includes a plurality of light
emitting elements configured to emit a light beam for exposing the
photosensitive member, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements
are arranged so as to respectively correspond to one pixel of the image
in a direction of a rotational axis of the photosensitive member; an
output unit configured to output pixel data for driving each of the
plurality of light emitting elements; a drive unit configured to drive
the plurality of light emitting elements based on the pixel data output
from the output unit; a storage unit configured to store a cumulative
duration of light emission of a target light emitting element included in
the plurality of light emitting elements; and a light amount control unit
configured to control a light amount of a light beam emitted by the
target light emitting element and the light emitting elements other than
the target light emitting element based on the cumulative duration of
light emission of the target light emitting element stored in the storage
unit.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising:
an output control unit configured to control output of the pixel data to
the drive unit from the output unit so that a position of image formation
of the electrostatic latent image is shifted in units of a predetermined
number of pixels in the direction of the rotational axis of the
photosensitive member each time an electrostatic latent image
corresponding to a predetermined number of sheets of recording paper is
formed.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the
plurality of light emitting elements are divided into a plurality of
groups in the direction of the rotational axis of the photosensitive
member, and an arbitrary one of the plurality of light emitting elements
included in each group is the target light emitting element, wherein the
storage unit is configured to store the cumulative duration of light
emission of each target light emitting element included in each group,
and wherein the light amount control unit is configured to control a
light amount of a light beam emitted by the plurality of light emitting
elements included in each group based on the cumulative duration of light
emission of the target light emitting element included in each group.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:
an update unit configured to, when the target light emitting element
emits light based on pixel data that causes the target light emitting
element to emit light, update the cumulative duration of light emission
by adding the duration of light emission by the target light emitting
element based on the pixel data to the cumulative duration of light
emission stored in the storage unit.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the output
unit is configured to output either pixel data that causes the light
emitting elements to emit light or pixel data that does not cause the
light emitting elements to emit light.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the output
unit is configured to output either pixel data that causes the light
emitting elements to emit light or pixel data that does not cause the
light emitting elements to emit light.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the output
control unit is configured to control output of the pixel data from the
output unit so that a position of image formation of the electrostatic
latent image is shifted in pixel units in the direction of the rotational
axis of the photosensitive member each time an electrostatic latent image
corresponding to one sheet of recording paper is formed.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the output
control unit is configured to control output of the pixel data from the
output unit so that a position of image formation of the electrostatic
latent image is shifted in pixel units in the direction of the rotational
axis of the photosensitive member each time an electrostatic latent image
corresponding to one sheet of recording paper is formed.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the output
control unit is configured to control output of the pixel data from the
output unit so that a position of image formation of the electrostatic
latent image is shifted in units of one pixel in the direction of the
rotational axis of the photosensitive member each time an electrostatic
latent image corresponding to one sheet of recording paper is formed.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the output
control unit is configured to control output of the pixel data from the
output unit so that a position of image formation of the electrostatic
latent image is shifted in units of one pixel in the direction of the
rotational axis of the photosensitive member each time an electrostatic
latent image corresponding to one sheet of recording paper is formed.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image
forming apparatus is a color image forming apparatus comprising a
plurality of light sources and a plurality of photosensitive members
respectively corresponding to a plurality of toner colors, and wherein
the output control unit is configured to output pixel data corresponding
to each of the plurality of colors so that a shift direction and a shift
amount of an electrostatic latent image formed on each photosensitive
member in the direction of the rotational axis of the photosensitive
members are the same.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image
forming apparatus is a color image forming apparatus comprising a
plurality of light sources and a plurality of photosensitive members
respectively corresponding to a plurality of toner colors, and wherein
the output control unit is configured to output pixel data corresponding
to each of the plurality of colors so that a shift direction and a shift
amount of an electrostatic latent image formed on each photosensitive
member in the direction of the rotational axis of the photosensitive
members are the same.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] One disclosed aspect of the embodiments relates to an image forming
apparatus that includes a plurality of light emitting elements arrayed so
as to expose different positions in a longitudinal direction of a
photosensitive member.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] An electrophotographic image forming apparatus that uses a
light-emitting diode (LED) as a light source to expose a photosensitive
member has been known. Such an image forming apparatus includes an
exposure head that includes a plurality of LEDs arrayed in a longitudinal
direction of the photosensitive member, so that one pixel is formed by
each LED. The number of arrayed light emitting elements is determined
based on the width and the resolution of the image forming area in the
longitudinal direction of the photosensitive member. For example, for a
1,200 dpi printer, since the interval between pixels is about 21.1 μm
(truncated to one decimal place), the light emitting elements are
arranged so that the interval between adjacent light emitting elements
forming pixels is 21.1 μm. Since such an LED exposure type image
forming apparatus does not require a polygon mirror, reducing the size of
the apparatus and reducing costs is easier, compared with a light beam
scanning type image forming apparatus that uses a polygon mirror.

[0005] On the other hand, an LED exposure system suffers from the problem
that when there is unevenness in the light amount of the respective LEDs,
image defects such as streaks are produced in the rotation direction of
the photosensitive member. To suppress such unevenness in the light
amount of the LEDs, light amount adjustment is performed for each LED
before shipment.

[0006] Further, LEDs also suffer from light amount deterioration, in which
the amount of emitted light deteriorates over time. Consequently, if the
usage frequency (cumulative number of times of light emission and
cumulative duration of light emission) is different among the LEDs, a
difference occurs in the level of deterioration among the LEDs, which
results in unevenness in the amount of emitted light. For example, when
the user prints a large quantity of the same image for a long period, or
when a formulaic image of a line (ruled line etc.) along the rotation
direction of the photosensitive member is included in the print image, a
difference in the usage frequency of the LEDs occurs based on the output
image, which results in a difference in the amount of emitted light of
the LEDs.

[0007] To suppress the unevenness in the amount of emitted light that
occurs due to differences in the usage frequency of each LED, Japanese
Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-62020 discusses an image forming
apparatus that stores data relating to the usage frequency of each LED
(cumulative number of times of light emission or cumulative duration of
light emission), and controls the light amount of each LED based on that
data.

[0008] However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-62020, a
memory for storing the data relating to the usage frequency of the LEDs
needs to be provided for all the LEDs. Specifically, Japanese Patent
Application Laid-Open No. 2007-62020 suffers from the drawback that a
large-capacity memory has to be provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] According to an aspect of the embodiments, an image forming
apparatus configured to form an image on a recording medium by forming an
electrostatic latent image on a rotating photosensitive member,
developing the electrostatic latent image with toner, and transferring a
toner image developed with toner from the photosensitive member onto the
recording medium, includes a light source that includes a plurality of
light emitting elements configured to emit a light beam for exposing the
photosensitive member, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements
are arranged so as to respectively correspond to one pixel of the image
in a direction of a rotational axis of the photosensitive member, an
output unit configured to output pixel data for driving each of the
plurality of light emitting elements, a drive unit configured to drive
the plurality of light emitting elements based on the pixel data output
from the output unit, a storage unit configured to store a cumulative
number of times of light emission of a target light emitting element
included in the plurality of light emitting elements, and a light amount
control unit configured to control a light amount of a light beam emitted
by the target light emitting element and the light emitting elements
other than the target light emitting element based on the stored
cumulative number of times of light emission of the target light emitting
element.

[0010] According to another aspect of the embodiments, an image forming
apparatus configured to form an image on a recording medium by forming an
electrostatic latent image on a rotating photosensitive member,
developing the electrostatic latent image with toner, and transferring a
toner image developed with toner from the photosensitive member onto the
recording medium, includes a light source that includes a plurality of
light emitting elements configured to emit a light beam for exposing the
photosensitive member, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements
are arranged so as to respectively correspond to one pixel of the image
in a direction of a rotational axis of the photosensitive member, an
output unit configured to output pixel data for driving each of the
plurality of light emitting elements, a drive unit configured to drive
the plurality of light emitting elements based on the pixel data output
from the output unit, a storage unit configured to store a cumulative
duration of light emission of a target light emitting element included in
the plurality of light emitting elements, and a light amount control unit
configured to control a light amount of a light beam emitted by the
target light emitting element and the light emitting elements other than
the target light emitting element based on the cumulative duration of
light emission of the target light emitting element stored in the storage
unit.

[0011] Further features of the disclosure will become apparent from the
following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the
attached drawings.

[0013] FIG. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exposure head,
and 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exposure head and a
photosensitive drum.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of a color image forming
apparatus.

[0015] FIG. 4A illustrates changes in light amount emitted from an LED
according to a cumulative number of times of light emission when a
constant drive current is supplied to an LED, and FIG. 4B is a lookup
table in which a cumulative number of times of light emission of an LED
is associated with a drive current value supplied to an LED.

[0016] FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a relationship between an image on a
sheet of recording paper and pixel data.

[0017] FIG. 6 illustrates a method of shifting pixel data.

[0018] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of control executed by a
CPU.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0019] An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure will now be described
based on a color image forming apparatus that forms images using a
plurality of toner colors as an example. However, the exemplary
embodiment is not limited to a color image forming apparatus. For
example, the present exemplary embodiment may be applied to an image
forming apparatus that forms images using only a single toner color
(e.g., black). One disclosed feature of the embodiments may be described
as a process which is usually depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a
structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe
the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be
performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the
operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its
operations are completed. A process may correspond to a method, a
program, a procedure, a method of manufacturing or fabrication, etc. One
embodiment may be described by a schematic drawing depicting a physical
structure. It is understood that the schematic drawing illustrates the
basic concept and may not be scaled or depict the structure in exact
proportions.

(Overall Configuration of the Image Forming Apparatus)

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a color image forming
apparatus (hereinafter "image forming apparatus 100"). The image forming
apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a
reading apparatus 101. The reading apparatus 101 irradiates a document
placed on a platen with light, reads reflected light from the document,
and generates image data by converting that image into an electric
signal.

[0022] The image forming apparatus 100 includes exposure heads 104a, 104b,
104c, and 104d, which are exposure light sources that include a plurality
of light emitting elements that output light beams for exposing the
photosensitive drums 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d, respectively, based on
the image data. The photosensitive drums charged by the respective
charging rollers are exposed by the light beams emitted from the
respective exposure heads, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image
based on the image data.

[0023] The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum
102a is developed by a development device 105a using a yellow toner
image, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum
102b is developed by a development device 105b using a magenta toner
image, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum
102c is developed by a development device 105c using a cyan toner image,
and the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 102d
is developed by a development device 105d using a black toner image.

[0024] The image forming apparatus 100 includes a sheet cassette 106 that
contains a recording medium, such as recording paper. The recording paper
contained in the sheet cassette 106 is conveyed sheet by sheet to a pair
of conveyance rollers 108 by a feeding roller 107, and conveyed onto a
conveyance belt 109 by the pair of conveyance rollers 108. The recording
paper conveyed onto the conveyance belt 109 is conveyed to a transfer nip
portion T1 (transfer portion T1) formed by the photosensitive drum 102a
and a transfer roller 110a. The yellow toner image on the photosensitive
drum 102a at the transfer nip portion T1 is transferred onto the
recording paper. Then, the recording paper on which the yellow toner
image has been transferred is successively conveyed to a transfer nip
portion T2 formed by the photosensitive drum 102b and a transfer roller
110b, a transfer nip portion T3 formed by the photosensitive drum 102c
and a transfer roller 110c, and a transfer nip portion T4 formed by the
photosensitive drum 102d and a transfer roller 110d, so that the
respective toner images on the photosensitive drums at the transfer nip
portions are transferred onto the recording paper.

[0025] The recording paper on which the respective color toner images have
been transferred is conveyed to a fixing device 111, and the toner images
on the recording paper are fixed. The recording paper that has passed
through the fixing device 111 is conveyed to a discharge tray 112.

(Exposure Head Configuration)

[0026] Next, exposure heads 104a, 104b, 104c, and 104d will be described.
Since the exposure heads each have the same configuration, the following
description will use the abbreviated terms "exposure head 104" and
"photosensitive drum 102" exposed by the exposure head 104.

[0027] FIG. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the exposure head
104, and FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the exposure head
104 and the photosensitive drum 102. The exposure head 104 includes a
plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are light emitting
elements. In FIG. 2A, the X axis direction is the direction of the
rotational axis (longitudinal direction) of the photosensitive drum 102,
and the Y axis direction is the rotational direction of the
photosensitive drum 102.

[0028] The plurality of LEDs are respectively arranged in an array in the
X axis direction so as to expose different positions in the direction of
the rotational axis of the photosensitive drum 102. An interval D1
between adjacent LEDs corresponds to the resolution of the image forming
apparatus. For example, since the interval between adjacent pixels in an
image formed by an image forming apparatus having a resolution of 1,200
dpi is about 21.1 μm, the plurality of LEDs is arranged so that the
interval D1 between adjacent LEDs is about 21.1 μm.

[0029] As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the exposure head 104 includes a
plurality of LEDs 201, a printed circuit board 203 on which the plurality
of LEDs 201 is mounted, a rod-lens array 204, and a frame 205 that holds
the printed circuit board 203 and the rod-lens array 204. In the factory,
the exposure head 104 is individually assembled and adjusted, and the
focus and initial light amount at a spot corresponding to the
photosensitive drum surface of the light beam emitted from each LED are
adjusted. The initial light amount adjustment is performed in the factory
so that the light amount of the LEDs before shipment is to be a target
light amount.

[0030] The exposure head that has been subjected to focus adjustment and
initial light amount adjustment is installed in the image forming
apparatus 100. The exposure head 104 is installed in the image forming
apparatus 100 so that the distance between the photosensitive drum 102
and the rod-lens array 204 is the same as the distance between the
rod-lens array 204 and the plurality of LEDs 201. Consequently, the focus
adjustment is performed by adjusting the installation position with
respect to the frame 205 of the rod-lens array 204 so that the distance
between the rod-lens array 204 and the plurality of LEDs 201 is to be a
desired value. Further, the initial light amount adjustment is performed
by adjusting the drive current supplied to each LED. Specifically, each
LED is successively made to emit light, and the drive current (initial
drive current I) initially supplied to each LED is adjusted for each LED
so that the light amount of the light beam that passes through the
rod-lens array 204 and is collected at a position corresponding to the
photosensitive drum 102 surface is to be a target light amount (initial
light amount).

(LED Light Amount Control)

[0031] Next, the light amount control of the light beam emitted by the
LEDs will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4A and 4B. This
LED light amount control is a control operation that is executed by the
image forming apparatus, after shipping from the factory, to set the
light amount of the light beam emitted from the LEDs in forming an image
to a target light amount.

[0032] FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the image forming apparatus
according to the present exemplary embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3,
a plurality of LEDs arranged in an array are divided into a plurality of
groups in the LED array direction, such as an LED group arrayed in an
area 1, an LED group arrayed in an area 2, . . . and an LED group arrayed
in an area m. In the present exemplary embodiment, the LED group arrayed
in an area X (X≧1) is referred to as the LED group belonging to
group X.

[0033] A plurality of LEDs belong to each group, and the number of LEDs
belonging to each group is the same. In the present exemplary embodiment,
nine LEDs belong to each group. In each group, a target light emitting
element (target LED) is set. In the image forming apparatus according to
the present exemplary embodiment, the LED positioned in the center of the
nine LEDs belonging to each group is set as the target LED.

[0035] The drive unit 405, which is individually provided for each of the
plurality of LEDs, drives the corresponding LED based on the input pixel
data.

[0036] The data generation unit 402 generates binary pixel data for
driving each LED based on the image data input by the reading apparatus
101 or an external information terminal, such as a personal computer
(PC). Specifically, based on the image data, the data generation unit 402
generates either pixel data (pixel data "1") that makes an LED emit light
or pixel data (pixel data "0") that does not make an LED emit light. The
data generation unit 402 outputs the generated pixel data to the data
output adjustment unit 403. The data output adjustment unit 403 performs
adjustment to determine which of the plurality of the drive units 405
each of the plurality of pixel data input from the data generation unit
402 is to be output to, based on an instruction from the CPU 401.

[0037] The memory 404 stores data relating to a cumulative number of times
of light emission by the target LED belonging to each group and a lookup
table in which data relating to a cumulative number of times of light
emission by the target LED belonging to each group is associated with a
drive current value supplied to the LED. Alternatively, the memory 404
stores a correction calculation formula. Further, the memory 404 stores
data relating to a below-described data shift amount and data shift
direction.

[0038] The CPU 401 reads data from the memory 404 and updates the data
stored in the memory 404. Further, the CPU 401 includes a number of
internal counters (not illustrated) equal to the number of
below-described target LEDs, and increases the count value based on the
output of pixel data from the data output adjustment unit 403 to the
drive units 405 driving each of the target LEDs.

[0039] FIG. 4A illustrates changes in light amount emitted from an LED
according to a cumulative number of times of light emission when a
constant drive current is supplied to an LED. The horizontal axis in FIG.
4A represents the cumulative number of times of light emission, and the
vertical axis represents the light amount of the light beam emitted from
the LED. During the acquisition of data illustrated in FIG. 4A, the LED
emits a light beam for a period corresponding to one pixel based on the
pixel data, then switches off. This emission of light is counted as one
light emission. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the light amount emitted from
the LED due to the supply of a drive current decreases from a target
light amount P (the initial light amount) as the cumulative number of
times of light emission by the LED increases.

[0040] As described above, when installing the LEDs in the image forming
apparatus, an initial value (the above-described initial drive current I)
for the drive current supplied to the LEDs is set so that the light beam
that is emitted from the LEDs is to be a target light amount (initial
light amount). However, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the light amount of
the light beam that is emitted from the LEDs decreases according to the
cumulative number of times of light emission. Consequently, there is a
need to suppress the deterioration in density by increasing the drive
current supplied to the LEDs according to the cumulative number of times
of light emission.

[0041] To solve this problem, the memory 404 according to the present
exemplary embodiment includes the lookup table illustrated in FIG. 4B, in
which the cumulative number of times of light emission of the LED is
associated with the drive current value supplied to the LED. The CPU 401
suppress the deterioration in density by performing light amount control
of the LED using the lookup table. The horizontal axis in FIG. 4B
represents the cumulative number of times of light emission, and the
vertical axis represents the drive current value supplied to the LED. As
illustrated in FIG. 4B, the decrease in the light amount of the LED from
the initial light amount can be suppressed by increasing, from the
initial drive current I, the drive current value supplied to the LED
according to the increase in the cumulative number of times of light
emission.

[0042] For nine LEDs belonging to group 1, the CPU 401 reads the data
relating to the cumulative number of times of light emission of the
target LED belonging to group 1 and the above-described lookup table, and
determines the drive current value corresponding to the cumulative number
of times of light emission of the target LED from the lookup table. Then,
the CPU 401 outputs the determined drive current value to the drive unit,
which drives each of the LEDs in group 1, as light amount control data.
Each drive unit 405 driving the LEDs in group 1 supplies a drive current
with a value that is based on the light amount control data output from
the CPU 401 when pixel data that causes the LEDs to emit light is
supplied from the data output adjustment unit 403. A light beam with a
light amount based on the cumulative number of times of light emission of
the target LED belonging to group 1 is emitted from the nine LEDs
belonging to group 1. Since the light emission control of the LEDs belong
to the other groups is the same, a description thereof will be omitted
here.

[0043] When pixel data "1" is output from the data output adjustment unit
403 to the target LED, the CPU 401 adds 1 to the cumulative number of
times of light emission read from the memory 404 so that the cumulative
number of times of light emission of the target LED is increased by one.

(Image Data Shift)

[0044] Next, a configuration (image data shift) will be described for
ensuring the accuracy of the light amount control of the light beams
emitted by the LEDs other than the target LED that is performed as
described above based on the cumulative number of times of light emission
of the target LED of each group.

[0045] For example, FIG. 5A illustrates a frame border (ruled line) image
formed on a sheet of recording paper. The line image A in FIG. 5A is a
line image corresponding to the arrangement position of the target LED.
As illustrated in FIG. 5B, by outputting pixel data "1" to the target LED
belonging to group X and outputting pixel data "0" to the other LEDs,
when a line image is formed on a plurality of sheets of recording paper
with only the target LED, the cumulative number of times of light
emission of the target LED increases by the number of pixels of the line
image. However, since the LEDs other than the target LED belonging to
group X do not emit light, the difference in the cumulative number of
times of light emission between the target LED and the other LEDs
increases.

[0046] To suppress the increase in the difference in the cumulative number
of times of light emission between the target LED and the other LEDs that
is caused by continuous formation of images, such as a ruled line, in the
rotation direction of the photosensitive drum, the image forming
apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment executes a
control like that described below.

[0047] Specifically, the image forming apparatus shifts the output
destination of the pixel data of the whole image by one pixel in the main
scanning direction each time an image is formed on one sheet of recording
paper. For example, focusing on line image A, as illustrated in FIG. 6,
the data output adjustment unit 403 shifts the pixel data output to the
drive unit 405 in the main scanning direction so that the line image A is
formed by a different LED for each sheet of recording paper. Since the
shift amount and the shift direction of the image (electrostatic latent
image) formed by each group illustrated in FIG. 6, such as group X-1,
group X, and group X+1, are the same, the position of image formation in
the main scanning direction on the recording paper is shifted by one
pixel for each sheet of recording paper, and there is no change to the
partial magnification of the image. Thus, by shifting the position of
image formation in the main scanning direction in pixel units for each
sheet of recording paper, the usage frequency of the plurality of light
emitting elements within the group when continuously forming a ruled
line, for example, can be made the same. Although FIG. 6 illustrates
pixel data for forming an image on first to ninth sheets of recording
paper, when forming an image on a tenth or subsequent sheet of recording
paper, an image is formed on the tenth sheet of recording paper using the
pixel data string of the first sheet illustrated in FIG. 6, and the
position of the image formed on the eleventh and subsequent sheets of
recording paper is shifted in the main scanning direction in the same
manner as when forming the image on the first to ninth sheets of
recording paper.

[0048] Although in the first exemplary embodiment an example is
illustrated in which the image is shifted in units of one pixel, the
shift amount of the image may be a predetermined number of two or more
pixels. Further, although in the first exemplary embodiment an example is
illustrated in which image shift is executed each time an image is formed
on one sheet of recording paper, image shift can be executed each time an
image is formed on a plurality of sheets of recording paper. In addition,
while the position of image formation is different from the previous
recording medium and the following recording medium when image shift is
executed, by keeping the image shift amount to a level that cannot be
visually perceived by a person, the mismatch in the position of image
formation from the previous recording medium and the following recording
medium can be visually suppressed.

[0049] Since the usage frequency among the plurality of light emitting
elements can thus be brought closer, the occurrence of a large difference
in the cumulative number of times of light emission of the target LED in
the group and the cumulative number of times of light emission of the
other light emitting elements can be reduced. By thus suppressing the
light amount of each light emitting element in the group based on the
cumulative number of times of light emission of the target LED in the
group, the occurrence of a difference in the light amount of the light
beam emitted from each light emitting element can be suppressed.

[0050] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the control flow illustrated in
FIGS. 4A and 4B that is executed during image formation by the CPU 401.
The CPU 401 starts control based on the fact that pixel data has been
output from the data generation unit 402 to the data output adjustment
unit 403. First, in step S701, the CPU 401 determines the position of
image formation on one sheet of recording paper in the main scanning
position. Next, in step S702, the CPU 401 controls the data output
adjustment unit 403 so that pixel data is output to the drive unit 405
based on the position of image formation in the main scanning direction
determined in step S701. The drive unit 405 corresponding to each LED
drives the LEDs based on the pixel data output from the data output
adjustment unit 403.

[0051] In step S703, the CPU 401 increases a count value of an internal
counter based on the pixel data output by the data output adjustment unit
403 to the drive unit 405 corresponding to the target pixel in each area.
In the present exemplary embodiment, the CPU 401 internal counter
increases the count value based on the fact that the data output
adjustment unit 403 has output pixel data that makes each target pixel
emit light.

[0052] Next, in step S704, the CPU 401 adds the count value obtained in
step S703 to the cumulative number of times of light emission of each of
the plurality of target LEDs stored in the memory 404, namely, the
cumulative number of times of light emission of each of the plurality of
target LEDs until the present control started. In step S705, the CPU 401
stores the cumulative number of times of light emission to which the
count value was added in step S704 in the memory 404. Specifically, in
step S705, the data relating to the cumulative number of times of light
emission stored in the memory 404 is updated. Next, in step S706, the CPU
401 controls the light amount of the light emitting elements included in
each group (the target light emitting pixel and the pixels other than the
target light emitting pixel) based on the cumulative number of times of
light emission of the target LED of each group that was stored (updated)
in the memory 404 in step S705, and executes image formation.

[0053] Then, in step S707, the CPU 401 determines whether image formation
on one recording sheet of recording paper has been completed. If it is
determined in step S707 that image formation on one recording sheet of
recording paper has not been completed (NO in step S707), the processing
returns to step S702 to control formation of the next line in the
sub-scanning direction.

[0054] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S707 that image
formation on one recording sheet of recording paper has been completed
(YES in step S707), the processing proceeds to step S708. In step S708,
the CPU 401 determines whether to form an image on the next sheet of
recording paper. If it is determined in step S708 to form an image on the
next sheet of recording paper (YES in step S708), the processing proceeds
to step S709. In step S709, the CPU 401 instructs the data output
adjustment unit 403 to shift the position of image formation on the next
sheet of recording paper by a predetermined number of pixels (in the
present exemplary embodiment, one pixel) in the main scanning direction
with respect to the position of image formation on the sheet of recording
paper immediately before, and the processing returns to step S702. Then,
the data output adjustment unit 403 adjusts (controls) the output of the
pixel data to the drive unit 405 so that in step S709 the image will be
formed at the instructed position.

[0055] If it is determined in step S708 not to form an image on the next
sheet of recording paper (NO in step S708), the CPU 401 finishes the
processing.

[0056] Thus, the image forming apparatus according to the present
exemplary embodiment controls an increase in the difference between the
cumulative number of times of light emission of the target LED and the
cumulative number of times of light emission of the light emitting
elements other than the target LED by shifting the position of image
formation in the main scanning direction each time an image is formed on
a predetermined number of sheets of recording paper. Since the occurrence
of a difference in the cumulative number of times of light emission is
suppressed, the light amount of the light emitting elements other than
the target LED can be controlled based on the cumulative number of times
of light emission of the target LED.

[0057] In the present exemplary embodiment, although data relating to the
cumulative number of times of light emission of the target LED is
illustrated as an example, the data stored by the memory 404 may be data
relating to the cumulative duration of light emission of the target LED.
In this case, the CPU 401 adds the duration of light emission based on
the pixel data to the cumulative duration of light emission stored in the
memory 404, and controls the light amount of each light emitting element
based on the updated cumulative duration of light emission.

[0058] According to the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure,
unevenness in the emitted light amount among a plurality of light
emitting elements can be suppressed while cutting back on memory
capacity.

[0059] While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary
embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to
the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is
to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such
modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

[0060] This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application
No. 2012-143142 filed Jun. 26, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by
reference herein in its entirety.